1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a pile-surfaced ball which may or may not have a tail and the method of making such a ball.
2. Prior Art
The Judkins U.S. Pat. No. 4,131,276, issued Dec. 26, 1978, discloses a ball having a central core 18 from which arms 24 of plastic foam material extend radially outward. The ends 32 of such arms are of rectangular configuration and are spaced apart substantial distances. Consequently, the surface of such ball is quite different from the ball of the present invention.
The Mitchell, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 3,459,158, issued Aug. 5, 1969, shows a tennis ball having a slit in it and a rod 13 extending from such tennis ball with a knob 14 housed in the tennis ball. The attachment of the rod to the tennis ball is somewhat similar to the attachment of a tail to the ball of the present invention.
The Lindgren U.S. Pat. No. 4,127,268, issued Nov. 28, 1978, shows a solid rubber ball having a tail, and Lerner et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,657,253, issued Apr. 14, 1987, also shows a solid elastomer ball having a tail. The balls of these patents are considerably different from the ball of the present invention.
The Topliffe U.S. Pat. No. 4,321,888, issued Mar. 30, 1982, also shows a ball with tails, but, again, both the ball and the manner in which the tails are attached to it differ considerably from the ball of the present invention.